Not all fun and games

Occasionally you get a shocking reminder of what you’re dealing with. When you’re looking at lolcats and webcomics, the Internet is a great thing. When you’re reading the news… the Internet’s still pretty great. When you can Google the lyrics that have been bugging you for the last few days and it gives you the song title as the first result, the Internet’s fucking awesome.

But sometimes, you get a reminder of the Internet’s dark side. And when you do, it’s not a soft nudge or a whisper. It’s a stab, and a scream.

One of the top posts on WordPress today is about 4chan’s 100M GET. If you’re like me and have no idea what that’s about, you’d probably do the same thing I did, and Googled “100M GET“. I got my answer – it was the 100 millionth post on 4chan’s “random” thread, a site I won’t link to due to its severe shittiness. But what I also got, at the bottom of the first ten Google results, was this:

In response to a legal request submitted to Google, we have removed 5 result(s) from this page. If you wish, you may read more about the request at ChillingEffects.org.

My first response was “Oh, haha, more legal business on the Interwebs. Way to fail, Google, caving in like that.” Then I clicked on the link and realized what the request was.

Google has received notice of a list of web sites from the Internet Watch Foundation (web site URL) that contain child pornography. Google has removed the related web sites from its search results.

The Internet shows its nasty side once more. Why must the power of the Internet only be demonstrated in the wrong hands?